Turning Java over to an open source model is a notion that’s often raised with Sun Microsystems Inc in its pursuit of ubiquity for the language. Open Source Initiative president Eric Raymond said if it were up to him he’d certainly open up Java, make the source code freely available for distribution and modification so long as those modifications are also made freely available. Raymond’s view is that Java can be a short-term revenue play for Sun or can deliver long-term ubiquity. It can’t be both. Although it appears for all intents and purposes that Java is effectively what makes Sun hardware attractive, Sun’s recent court ruling would appear to offer it the opportunity to reassess what is widely held to be an onerous licensing scheme for a more liberal interpretation.
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